The issue of religious expression in the school setting is potentially facing another legal test in West Covina, California. The school district is being faced with the threat of a lawsuit from the Advocates for Faith and Freedom (AFF) over … Read more

With the increased focus on school security, more school districts will be utilizing and requiring that students wear ID badges while on campus. A federal district court in Texas has recently denied a student’s challenge to this practice, denying the … Read more

Cheerleaders in Kountze, Texas have a practice of putting Bible verses on the banners they hold up at football games. Banners have been painted with phrases such as “If God is for us, who can be against us?” and “But … Read more

Setting up a constitutional showdown about the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, the Giles County School Board unanimously voted to return displays of the Ten Commandments previously removed from its schools. One month earlier, the district had removed … Read more

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the New Hampshire state legislature passed the New Hampshire Patriot Act. While the Act provides for a daily recitation of the pledge in all of the state’s schools, the statute … Read more

The case Stratechuck v. Board of Education, 587 F.3d 597, 610 (C.A.3 (N.J.), 2009), (which the United States Supreme Court declined at the start of this term to hear), involved a parent, Mr. Stratechuck, who challenged the school district’s … Read more

A federal district court judge has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring school officials to readmit a student who had been suspended for wearing a nose stud that she says is part of her religion. The student is a … Read more

A federal district court in Wisconsin has ruled that a school district did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by holding high school graduation ceremonies at a local church. The court was not persuaded that “obligatory participation … Read more

An Idaho federal court has ruled that the Idaho Public Charter School Commission (the “Commission”), the body that regulates public charter schools in Idaho, did not violate either the U.S. or the Idaho Constitution when it banned the use of … Read more

A federal district court judge issued a ruling on May 31st enjoining a Connecticut school district from holding its high school graduation ceremonies at a local cathedral. The judge found that the plaintiffs, including several students and parents, had established … Read more

On April 30, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued a preliminary injunction barring a student-led prayer at a high school graduation ceremony. The lawsuit against the school district was brought by the ACLU … Read more

Oregon, Nebraska and Pennsylvania are the only remaining states to prohibit religious clothing in public schools. But Oregon has taken the first step in lifting the ban in a vote on House Bill 3686. Proponents of the bill praise … Read more

A Montana high school valedictorian is suing her former school district and various school officials for their refusal to allow her to present her valedictory speech as written. As one of several valedictorians in her high school class, Renee Griffith … Read more

A federal court in New Hampshire recently ruled that the State’s law requiring school districts to set aside time for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance (the “Pledge”) in schools does not violate several clauses contained in the U.S. … Read more

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision finding that a school district did not violate the Constitutional rights of a student when it prohibited her from performing an instrumental version of “Ave Maria” at her high school’s graduation. The … Read more

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